As is the case with many archives that are associated with universities, the UIUC Archives cares for and makes accessible the records of the university, including the personal papers of many people who have taught, administered, or studied here. (For example, the Archives here has the papers of sculptor Lorado Taft, who created the Alma Mater, among other works at the UI and elsewhere.) But the university also has the records of some other organizations, as well as a few specialized collections organized around a particular subject. To pick just three examples:

The records of the Advertising Council, a nonprofit public-service advertising agency that has come up with such memorable slogans as “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.”

The records of the American Library Association (ALA), the world's oldest and largest national library professional association, founded in 1876.